Play@YSDC

On Monday morning, August 19, 1991, the Investigators were awoken to the news that Premier Gorbachev had been relieved of his duties and a “State Committee for the State of Emergency” had been created to run the country during the transition of power. Their Spetsnaz unit, in Norilsk for Arctic warfare training, is put on alert; but being so far from the centers of power in the U.S.S.R., no one can really imagine them going into action unless they are airlifted back to Moscow or Leningrad.

OOC:   I am npc-ing two characters but will not be (consciously) lead the group. One of the characters is an out and out bigot and I will be playing him as such. This does not reflect either my views, the views of the other players, the site nor the writers of the scenario. If any offence is caused - well it is his character and it is just a game, but I apologise in advance.

Outside camp Norilsk, snow is driven hard and fast in heavy winds, and as the sun is high very early in the morning, but of course you are all up and ready, settled in the mess hall where the delicious food, (heavy sarcasm there), is served by happy smiling mess staff, but then again, being stuck out here permanently would be enough to drive any man like that. But you are back on the soil of Holy Russia so it's not all bad, apart from the leaking roofs, the eternal chill in the air and the lack of any colour other than the eternal drab landscape which seems to reach to the horizon in every direction. Situated close to the border between the central Siberian Plateau and western Siberian Plain, more notably the Putoran Mountains, which contain some of Russia's prime nickel mines.

Senior Lieutenant Babenko sits in silence as the news of the coup filters through. A lot of the men in the mess tent are getting somewhat excited by the news, both for and against the news. Standing up he Calls for calm. "Comrades, the politics of those who run the country are by and large irrelevant. Out here we are so far from Moscow that we may as well be on the far side of the planet. What we need to do is keep our heads here and not show any signs of division within our ranks. Remember we are on standby and may be called into action at the drop of a filthy Afghan rebel. Sing with me comrades, sing with me our national anthem (translated into English)

Russia – our sacred homeland,
Russia – our beloved country.
A mighty will, great glory –
These are your heritage for all time! etc

Kapitan Sergei Borisovich Kozlov leans back in his chair and drinks his cup of whatever passes as coffee in these parts. He didn't like the way the men reacted to the news. He wasn't sure how to react to it either, Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachov had done good things for the country, but he was a moderate, maybe too moderate for Russia's needs.
Regardless, this kind of division was bad for morale in normal circumstances, let alone in the frozen wastes of Siberia.

With some appreciation he looked on as Babenko tried to rally the forces, observing the men's reactions. He didn't like the man, he was obnoxious, but he was a good second in command, he could read people exceptionally well and he knew how to react efficiently when situations turned.

Praporschik Viktor Sergeyevich Muradov is at home here. While most Soviets wouldn't like being in Siberia, he is from there and relishes the freezing weather and isolation. Here he is in his element. He listens to the news of the coup with concern, as he likes Gorbachev, whose reforms have made it easier for him to practice his faith. He sings along to the national anthem, loudly and boisterously.

Nikolay Vladimirovich Korovin is relieved by being here. Not that he likes this place: he is from the south and like to see the green in spring and yellow on summer. But he hasn't made his mind yet about the situation: he is a patriot and Gorbatchev is the legal leader. But the country seems to falling apart, and it seems that a more energetic leadership is needed

Praporshchik Andrey Alexandrovich Melnikov uses his fork like a weapon to stab a piece of the cold, grease dripping bacon that the cooks have so lovingly prepared. He does this for three reasons; one, he wants to make sure that the thing is dead; two, the liberal coating of grease makes it hard to get hold of; and most importantly three, he's bored.
At the lieutenant's words he smiles grimly, still playing chase with the bacon, he doesn't care about politics as long as he gets to use 'Lara' his beloved PK to fire more than blanks.

Vladimir Olegovich Kriptoshenko jumps into singing along with the anthem as well. He hasn't yet thought about his feelings on what's happening back home--those thoughts have been neatly filed away for a better time--but he knows the others certainly have. His duty, first and foremost, is to these men around him.

"лайно" (shit) shouts Melnikov as he pulls his razor sharp combat knife from his boot and spears the bacon. The profanity loud and at odds with the patriotic singing causes others to look around. Melnikov favours them with his half insane look, almost daring a response. He looks at Kriptoshenko and smiles enigmatically.

The day is spent doing the usual drills and routine continues as normal ... the standby is not dropped though which it normally is after about 6-10 hours and as you all retire for the night there is the feeling that as well as the coup in Moscow ... this time, it just may be more than the usual stand-by - stand-down routine. Tension seems to be hitting the non-Spetsnaz harder than the more elite, the higher trained men, but this is exactly what Mother Russia would have expected. Kapitan Sergei Borisovich Kozlov had orders to drill his men hard today and he duly complied.

Sleep is still hard to come by though as adrenaline is still present in your system due to the hard Kozlov had put you through. Still it was all good ... good to get laziness out of the system and good to get you ready for for action. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Silence and blackness descends, well it would apart from the damnable snores emanating from Babenko's bunk, as one by one you drift off into a dark and dreamless sleep.


This blissful state lasts till exactly 0100 hrs when the group is literally kicked out of bed and ordered to assemble in full arctic warfare gear immediately. Like the well oiled machine that your unit is, you realise that this is no drill so you fully comply and within fifteen minutes you are all piling into the back of several UAZ trucks and are being rushed to the nearby Soviet Air Defence Forces Base. Waiting in a hangar for you to disembark are a number of high ranking generals from the Soviet Strategic Rocket Forces, the arm of the military that is responsible for all land-based strategic and theater nuclear missiles. They don’t look happy. One or two look drunk.

One of the older top brass present steps forward and speaks in a gravelly voice. "I am Lt. General Suslin of the Strategic Rocket Forces."

"This is a full Spetsnaz Briefing for Operation White 36 Date The time of the Briefing: 20/08/91 - 0130 hours." he adds looking at his watch.

Operational Forces to Deploy: "We are deploying members of the 4th Special Purpose Brigade, elements, Red Army as well as 82nd Special Purpose Airborne and Arctic Warfare Company, Red Army. The 124th Heavy Lift Wing, elements, Red Air Force and 1st Platoon, 18th Special Signals Company, elements, Strategic Rocket Forces will also be deployed."

Strategic Situation: "Site 6 is home to the an ICBM silo of the 123rd Strategic Missile Wing, located in the foothills of the Byrranga Mountains of the Taymyr Peninsula at 76° 12’ N and 106° 18’ E. Strategic Rocket Forces Command lost all telemetry and radio contact with Site 6 six hours ago. Site 6 has not responded to any subsequent attempts at communication. Site 6’s last communication, at 18:30:22 Moscow standard time, was that the facility was under attack by forces unknown. We can only assume now that Site 6 is in the hands of terrorists, counter-revolutionary or imperialist forces. No demands or ultimatums have been issued at this time.

"Further complicating the strategic and tactical situation is the presence of a violent storm over Site 6. Air reconnaissance of Site 6 is extremely restricted. High winds combined with low visibility and an unknown amount of snowfall over the site mean that a successful air insertion at Site 6’s landing field via aircraft landing or para-drop are rated as extremely low-probability. No appropriate military resources are near enough to reach Site 6 by ground within the time constraints.

"The final factor arguing against air insertion is that Site 6 is equipped with four SA-12 ground-to-air missile batteries. If Site 6 is in the hands of hostile forces, they may have control of the air-defence system, making an approach by air impossible without extreme casualties."

Mission Objective: "Your Company must reach Site 6, regain control, assess the technical situation at the facility, and re-establish communications and data exchange with Strategic Rocket Forces command at Sverdlovsk. The objective is time-critical. Communications and data exchange must be achieved by 14:45:13 hours, August 22, 1991."

Deployment: "The task force will deploy from Soviet Air Defence Forces base at Norilsk.

"The task force will be divided into two equal teams consisting of two platoons of Special Purpose Forces. Each team will include three personnel from the Strategic Rocket Forces, who will deal with any technical issues at the silo complex once it is secured by the Special Purpose Forces. The use of two separate teams using two different approaches to Site 6 will ensure the success of the mission.

"Team number one will attempt to reach Site 6 via Mi-26 helicopter launched from Norilsk Air Defence Base. Team number one will proceed via nape-of-the-Earth flight in order to avoid the radar systems and air defence batteries at Site 6.

"Team number two will be inserted 114 km from objective, beyond the worst of the blizzard conditions, by an Antonov-124 transport aircraft launched from Norilsk Air Defence Forces Base. After performing an open-field landing and disembarking, Team two will proceed overland to the objective using four MT-LBV multi-purpose tracked vehicles.

"Whichever team reaches Site 6 first will immediately secure the facility and then re-establish communications with Strategic Rocket Forces Command Sverdlovsk. The second team to arrive will provide support. Task Force will remain in place until the weather permits safe extraction."

Security: "All information about, and even the very existence of, White 36 is classified Top Secret."

Expected Weather Conditions: "The area of Site 6 is experiencing unseasonable weather. A violent blizzard has reduced visibility to less than 100 meters. Sustained winds are estimated at 65kph with gusts over 100kph. Air insertion directly into Site 6 is an extreme hazard."

He clicks his fingers and maps of the area and a copy of the briefing are distributed to the commanding officers by an adjunct.

"In closing I have to stress how critical time is ... this mission must be completed within the next two and a half days. Now gentlemen, Russia acknowledges your mission, at least those who know of it. The dangers you will be facing are immense and some of you may very well not be returning. The Motherland will take you to it's heart." He will not brook any questions so the information you have is all you are getting.

"Now load up onto the Antonov-124 military transport jet where you will be going overland in four MT-LBV armoured Personnel Carriers." You all troop onto the plane and sit on the 80 person passenger compartment behind the cockpit of the An-124. Kozlov tells you to perform final equipment checks whilst the plane is loaded and awaits take-off.

Finally the plane taxis onto the runway and the heavy military jet struggles to get off the ground before heading off northeast into the Byrranga Mountains of the Taymyr Peninsular. Wheels up at 0300 hrs.

After the equipment check, Kozlov checks his watch.

"Time is now 0305, synchronise watches."

He looked at his men and observed the expressions on their faces closely. He was glad that they finally received a briefing, idleness was no soldier's friend.

He stood and holding himself steady on one of the overhead rails, he speaks:

"When we touch down, we take formation Delta. I take point, Kriptoshenko is left wing, Babenko right.

Muradov, you screen with Melnikov at 50m interval at 10 o' clock from the main group, fade left on contact and we punch through. Each MT-LBV of the main group will take one of the rocket men.

Clear?"

Kozlov in the mess,You are not the only one who notices that some are not joining in the singing of the glorious national anthem. You are aware of the close scrutiny of several zampolit scattered around the room, watching and mentally noting everything.

Several of your former colleagues led by Senior Lieutenant Ivan Sergeivtich Poliakov who was a close friend, well as close as any other Spetsnaz soldier, to quite a few of your group as he was an amiable and affable man, A career soldier who never gave too much thought about climbing the ladder just yet as he revelled in the camaraderie of the unit. There was always time for climbing the greasy pole in years to come. Junior Lieutenant Dimitri Aleksayavich Samoylenko, a stern yet fair zampolit, or political officer who has in previous tours of Afghanistan has saved quite a few lives with acts of bravery and derring do.

They as well as many other former comrades are assigned to team one, who were assigned to reach site 6 by a Mi-26 helicopter,

The investigators, along with other former comrades are assigned to team two, to be inserted 114 Km from the objective via an Antonov-124 and four MT-LBV multi purpose tracked vehicles.

It takes about 90 minutes to reach the disembarkation point, and the pilots Call back to the commanders "We are here Boys ... Get ready. We are going to look for a landing site that presents a credible chance for a open field landing just outside the near total white-out of the blizzard. It looks as though this could take some time as the blizzard looks damned severe." About twenty minutes later they call back again. "We found what we think is the best chance up ahead."

OOC:   Make two rolls please everyone ... a Spot Hidden, and either Navigation or Military Science - whichever is highest.

Kriptoshenko's gaze is able to spot the finer details, but he's so focused on that that he misses the larger picture.

Viktor peers out of the Annie's window, getting a decent look, but he isn't quite sure where they are.

Spot Hidden,[dice]1d100[/dice]

The other one,[dice]1d100[/dice]

OOC:   Well, that didn't work

Kozlov observes closely, his instincts keen as ever.

Successes both!,[url]http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4394881/[/url]

Although this is no passenger flight, it seems to those who can see outside, (read as those who passed their Spot Hidden rolls), can determine that it seems fuel is being dumped by the pilots. Trails of aviation fuel stream out behind the wing tanks. At the rate it is being jettisoned, there could not be much fuel left. You believe that there may well be not enough fuel to attempt another field landing.

Those who passed their navigate or military science rolls are of the opinion that the field the pilots are heading for is far too short, (about 300 - 500 m short), for a plane of this size.
If you succeeded at any of these rolls, roll SAN to realise the implications ... that the plane is crash landing. This realisation costs 0/1 SAN.

Viktor's eyes go wide when he sees how close the ground is. "Brace for impact!" he warns the others as he tries to brace himself. "We're coming down hard!"

OOC,My character sheet lists my POW as 14, so my starting SAN should normally be 70, but the character sheet lists it as 65. If I've somehow lost Sanity before the scenario started, then I failed that roll, but if that's an error and it's really supposed to be 70, then I succeeded.

Kozlov barks the command as well as he grabs on for dear life.

There goes the first sanity,[url]http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4396845/[/url]

Kriptoshenko is horrified by the potential implications of what he sees. He braces for impact and fervently hopes for the best.

Spot Hidden & Navigation,Sot Hidden: 63% 1d100 → [63] = (63) http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4397455/ (Phew!!) Navigation: 37% 1d100 → [49] = (49) http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4397459/ (Damn)

Melnikov notices the fuel trail, but his position in the plane stops him getting a view of their destination. At Victor's warning shout, he braces for impact, he's a good soldier who always follows orders and has learnt to trust Victor's instincts.
Although Victor's words might cause others to panic, Melnikov trusts that the highly trained pilots will know what they're doing. As he braces himself he takes a look at where his beloved PK machine gun, oiled and polished in readiness, waits and grins,

Melnicov thinking:   Oh well the sooner we're down the sooner we begin

San Roll,50% 1d100 → [7] = (7) http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4397471/ (Yay!)

All those years dealing with bombs are paying now; Nicolay a notices that something is quite wrong, but he still manages to control himself and prepares to the worst.
"Nice way to start a mission!"- He thinks.


http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4397673/
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4397675/

The plane comes closer and closer to the ground. The less 'disciplined' soldiers start to panic, shouting and screaming about their situation. Several unbuckle themselves and four head forwards towards the pilots, a route that will take them past where your group are sitting. To try and stop them would mean your releasing at least part of your 'bracing for impact.'

Three of the four mighty engines splutter and die one by one until there is only the starboard outer engine running, and that is coughing and will not run much longer.

Those who head towards the rear of the plane descend into the cargo hold.

At the last moment the pilots raise the nose and there is a loud grinding noise as the rear of the plane hits the ground. Hard! Lights go out and most of the troops in the passenger cabin start screaming in outright terror.

As the tail hits the ground, the nose pivots down into the ground, deep beneath the snow. Those who were trying to get to the pilots get their wish as they are catapulted forwards. The jet's top speed is 537 mph, assuming the pilots were slowing it down and when the tail impacted the plane was doing 1/2 the speed, which I reckon would be at about 180 mph, which would have been the impact speed as they hit the windshield. This coupled with the impact stress of the crash simply shatters the nose of the plane, concertinaing the front cabin instantly, crushing it like a fly on a windscreen. Debris, snow, ice and rock have been forced through the gangway into the passenger compartment.

Those that went astern met what sounded like a similar fate to their forward bound companions. A loud screeching, followed by screams punctuated with loud bangs emanates from the rear of the plane. A lone voice whimpers. While it is intelligible you can all make out "Please Dear Holy Mother Save your son Yuri Zolnerowich." It soon degenerates into meaningless babbling. Yuri Zolnerowich served as a radio man with the 11th Detached Special Operations Brigade for a few tours in Afghanistan but was cashiered to the general army for knocking out a Major, with one single blow. The fact that Major fully deserved it did not matter a jot because he just happened to do it in front of a lot of witnesses, many of who had personal grudges against Zolnerowich. Hearing this costs you 1/D2 SAN.

There is a muffled whumph from outside, and flames can be seen from the few portholes available. The flickering light from the flames is the only illumination available inside the craft.

Kozlov doesn't show any pride or appreciation that his men stayed put and after the plane is thoroughly shaken, he lets go of his brace position.

He lowers himself to the deck and turns on his flashlight.

"Melnikov, Kriptishenko, see what gear can be salvaged.
The rest of you, check if there is still at least one of those rocket people alive."

Kozlov looks around, seemingly ignoring the dying man's cries.

Sanity-success,[url]http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4399602/[/url]

"Babenko, go with them and see if you can open enough space to fit the vehicles through."

"Bozhemoi!" gasps Viktor, unnerved by what he hears, but not too badly. He heads for the rear as ordered to see if any of the rocket scientists have survived.

Kriptoshenko stares at the back of the plane, then looks to Kozlov with incredulous eyes. "Kapitan! I need to aid the survivors!" He doesn't wait for a response before he disobeys his orders and heads for the rear.

Melnikov snaps the belt open and rises to do as ordered. First though he checks his beloved 'Lara' to make sure that she has suffered no damage in the crash.
As he rises he hears a babbling from the rear. He has heard worse, and pays it little mind. He watches as the medic starts to move back to the rear and shrugs, Kriptoshenko knows his buisness. Still seemingly unnafected by the screams and moans that fill the smashed fuselage, he follows the medic towards the rear, where the equipment would have been stashed.

OOC:   I presume that the plane has rear loading and that most of the equipment would have been there?

Sanity,50% 1d100 → [39] = (39) http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4400690/

-Da!
Nicolay opens the belt, take his gear and go see if any of the people of the rocket personnel is still alive, tring to ignorate the screams, but he is affected.


http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4400704/
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4400705/

A loud crack emanates from the bulkhead above and electrical cables sweep down showering sparks wherever they touch a convenient earth point, Sometimes it is the deck, other times a soldier, and as they scream in muffled agony as the cable ends burn deep into their flesh or causes them shock damage in other ways, through their helmets for example, then the smell of feces and burnt flesh hits you in waves. Some fool had his finger on the trigger of his AK-47, which fortunately was not on continuous mode. As his muscles contracted due to electrification, his gun went off at random instances adding to the death toll. Fortunately whoever was near him managed to knock the cable away from where it had made contact with him, probably saving numerous lives. Suddeny several loud bangs, followed by a hissing sound can be heard, just under the panicked shouting and screaming in the confined space.

Now you can hear several agonised cries as something slick and slippery coats the deck, a light fog is starting to fill the passenger compartment, and it is getting denser, starting to coalesce upon your clothing.

OOC:   Can I please have two Idea rolls from Kozlov and Viktor.

Kozlov,Having ordered you men into position, what are your actions. As you look around you can see a lot of dead people, but a lot of living as well. Of the 80 passengers that the plane carried, you guestimate that less than 1/3 have survived. A soldier three seats down from you is waving what appears to be the stump of his leg in the air spraying blood in all directions as he screams and vainly tried to apply a tourniquet to staunch the bleeding. His other leg is crimson and the amputated part of his leg lies some distance from where he sits.

Viktor,Following Kapitan Kozlov's orders, you make your way aft to check on the scientists managed to survive. The floor is slick with something wet and greasy and the all too familiar coppery smell of blood fills your nostrils. You find some of the scientists still alive, though badly shaken. There is a crack and electric cables start to dance across the floors and walls of the cabin. Suddenly shots ring out and you 'feel' a bullet rather than see it as it flashes directly in front of you. It strikes the cabin wall and the chill wind howls through the hole the bullet created. Half a step further and you would be dead. As the pops suddenly go off you can see one of the scientists suddenly clutch his leg, which promptly falls to the floor, A vapour starts to fill the cabin.

Kriptoshenko,You head back to the cargo hold and see total chaos. It takes you a few moments but floundering around in the dark, and following your ears you manage to eventually find the mewling Zolnerowich half buried under the tracks of one of the MT-LBV's. You quickly determine that both his legs, his right arm and a good part of his lower intestine are pinned under the tracks of the vehicle. From what you have seen, there is absolutely nothing that can be done for poor Yuri.Whilst you never had too much time for him, he was a comrade in arms and your prime aim is to save life. What are you going to do? Suddenly you hear a noise behind you and see the familiar shape of a Spetsnaz soldier, probably Melnikov assessing equipment.

Melnikov,Having checked 'Lara' and finding nothing amiss He follows Kriptoshenko to the cargo hold. Melnikov was doing his usual thing, looking after the wounded while he goes more to check the equipment and it's condition. Just as you start to descent to the cargo hold you hear the crack and spatter of the arcing electric cables. Having seen this you continue your descent into the cargo bay. It is immense but some of the MT-LBV's have come free of their moorings and look to be beyond repair. Some may be salvaged, but they would probably be in the middle of the hold you reckon as the tail hit down hard and the vehicles near the front have slid forward.

There but for the grace of God go I... thinks Viktor as something occurs to him.

OOC,I succeeded at the first Idea roll but failed at the second.

Surveying the mess, Melnikov turns to Babenko, "This is going to be fun Comrade Lieutenant. Perhaps we can open the cargo doors and allow gravity to move the damaged vehicles first?"

From behind and above him the screams and cries of the wounded seem to increase,

Melnikov thinking:   What the hell is [b]Kriptoschenko[/b] doing to them? A bullet might be kinder

Viktor,The high pressure hydraulic lines must have blown which means that the fog in the air must be the hydraulic oil or whatever they use nowadays.

Melnikov,As you reach the rear of the plane you can see that the rear doors are mangled. Perhaps you can manage to get them open, but it would take hours of work, hours you may not have the luxury of spending as you remember [b]Lt. General Suslin's[/b] words about time "[color=#FF4000]I have to stress how critical time is ... this mission must be completed within the next two and a half days." [/color]

Cearlan,[b]Kozlov [/b]goes to the wounded man, steadily progressing on the slippery floor. As he nears the man he puts his hand on his shoulder, squeezing hard and forcing him to look into his eyes. "[color=#0000FF]You're a brave man soldier, you stayed in position when lesser men fled.[/color]" With that he drives his dagger through the man's heart, glad to have eased his suffering.

Kozlov looks around the place one final time and makes his way to the forward section, casting a quick glance through the door.

"That mist must be hydraulic fluid!" says Viktor. "The lines must have been broken." He makes his way over to the scientist with the leg wound to render aid.

Melnikov stands legs apart hands on hips and surveys the carnage of the cargo hold, "Hmm" he speaks quieltly as if more to himself than his superior officer, "It will take too long to clear the doors, and" he sniffs the odour of hydraulic fluid in the air, "I don't think the doors will open any time soon"
He turns back to Babenko, "Perhaps we could blow an opening in the hold?"

OOC:   Apologies Kabukiman, my head's a shed at the moment.

Nikolai,You make your way aft of the crushed cockpit following Kapitan Kozlov's orders, you follow Viktor as you check on the scientists managed to survive. The floor is slick with something wet and greasy and the all too familiar coppery smell of blood fills your nostrils. You find some of the scientists still alive, though badly shaken. There is a crack and electric cables start to dance across the floors and walls of the cabin. You see Viktor flinch slightly and a sudden chill wind howls through a hole in the fuselage. As the pops suddenly go off you can see a vapour starts to fill the cabin. [ooc]Two Idea rolls please.[/ooc]

Kozlov,As you move forwards, you can see in the dim lights cast from the arcing electric cables and the flames from outside that your way is blocked by a mixture of thick broken glass, snow, frozen compacted earth ice and rock. In places this is smeared a ghastly red colour and as you peer closer, your stomach churns and ice runs down your spine as you can see one of the pilots arm and shoulder sticking out of the debris in front of you, your way forwards is totally blocked.

Melnikov,The rear doors will not be opening in any time soon in your opinion. Perhaps Korovin may be able to work some of his magic, but who knows what lies beyond the rear doors?

Kriptoshenko,As you cradle the man's head in your lap, you can see the last breath come from deep within his soul. You content yourself with the knowledge that there was nothing you could have done anyway. Still, not a good omen to start a mission with.

Viktor,As you head towards the scientists, one of them hears your comment about the hydraulic lines being blown. his already pale face drops and he stammers... "If they have indeed blown comrade, then we have got to get out of here as quickly as possible. Some of the oils used are highly inflammable, others toxic, especially in vapour form."

Kriptoshenko slowly exhales and gently lays Zolnerowich's head down on the ground. He is angry with himself for his unnecessary insubordination, and the time he's wasted on a dying man, but beating himself for it will help nothing. He stands and tries to refocus on the rest of the surroundings.

"No flames, no explosives!" Viktor calls as he helps the wounded scientist to stand and supports him. "The hydraulic fluid could blow any second!" He nods to the scientists. "Then let's get out of here, Comrades." He leads the way to the nearest exit from the plane.

OOC,Does the passenger compartment have a door through which we can leave?

Kozlov scowled, this was no way to die.
He braced himself as he turned around and headed towards the aft section.

Demanding a status report from any of his men he encounters. (He also keeps an eye out for any other officers not belonging to his outfit.)

Nicolay gets a quick view of the situation...
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4405132/

Victors warning cry causes Melnikov to focus. "мудак!" he turns to the nearby Babenko, "We had better get our asses out of here Comrade Lieutenant if we dont want to get roasted like pigs"
He turns to run towards the other survivors

The plane has two entrances into it, both via the cargo bay. The standard tail entry is the one most commonly used, though this also has a nosecone that can be raised to allow access. Unfortunately in your situation, the nosecone does not look to be a viable option to exit the plane.

Melnikov,Starshiy Leytenant Babenko surveys the wreckage in the rear of the plane and turning to Melnikov he says calmly. He half-sneers as he looks down his nose at you, though this is his way. [color=#FF4000]"Da Comrade, there is no way out through the rear of the plane, not without risking igniting the fog of hydraulic fluid. Hopefully the pressure will have dropped off by now and we can get everyone who can, back here , as far from the mist as possible. That should reduce the risk of it igniting ... I hope."[/color] [ooc]Idea roll please Melnikov[/ooc]

Nikolay,You climb atop a MT-LBV and from your vantage point atop one of the ruined MT-LBV's you can see that of the eight that were on board the plane, four are definitely out of commission, the two that have crashed into the forward bulkhead and one that crashed into the rear of the front two. In the dim light you can see that the farthest one appears to be on it's roof lying across the rear doors. [color=#0040FF]"дерьмо!"[/color] you curse under your breath. [ooc]Idea roll please Nikolay[/ooc]

Kriptoshenko,Your eyes are getting accustomed to the gloom of the cargo bay. As you stand you notice that a few more of the group are starting to come down the access points into the AN-124's cargo hold. You notice Kozlov stop halfway down the ladder and look around. Even in the dim light you can see the grim and determined look on his face. [think]"This does not bode well for the rest of the mission."[/think] you cannot help but think to yourself. [ooc]Idea roll please Kriptoshenko[/ooc]

Kozlov,You enter the rear cargo section of the plane and from your position on the ladders down you swing around and survey the wreckage in the dim light. From your vantage point you can see Korovin atop one of the ruined MT-LBV's,cool as ever looking at the damage before him, weighing up the options no doubt. From where you are you can determine that of the eight vehicles that were on board the plane, four are definitely out of commission, the two that have crashed into the forward bulkhead and one that crashed into the rear of the front two. In the dim light you can see that the farthest one appears to be on it's roof lying across the rear doors. [think]Why are there days like this?[/think] you wonder to yourself. [ooc]Idea roll please Kozlov[/ooc]

Viktor,The rest of the soldiers manage to extract those still trapped whilst you look for a way out. There are two entrances into and four exits out of the plane - both front and rear cargo loading doors and the emergency escape doors above the flaming ruins of the wings. The front you believe is ruled out due to the fact you have crash landed. The rear took the brunt of the initial landing shock so that way out is improbable too. There are two emergency exits under the wings, The one on the port (left) side appears to be jammed solid and the other is red hot as burning aviation fuel continues to flow down the starboard (right) side of the plane. [ooc]Idea roll please Viktor[/ooc]

Nicolay thinks about the situation.


OOC: invisible castle is down, and the dice button doesn't seem to be working...

Idea,[dice]1d100[/dice]

"Korovin, situation? How many can we get out?"

Kozlov looks over the mess, making a quick tally of the men able to move and the men able to travel.

OOC,I sent a message to Lee, asking him to activate the diceroller.

[dice]0[/dice]
OOC, Ok, this is bad. It0s like a 00, rigth?

OOC, I know it doen's make any sense, but the result was a 0, and I edited to make the coment. So it's not a 44 but a 0.

For those unsure about the on-site die roller look here for an in-depth explanation.

Kozlov,You reckon if you can get the MT-LBV's operational, then you should, God willing, be able to punch through the fuselage of the plane. What lies on the other side however could prove to be a problem - it would be no good slamming into a wall of ice and rock like at the front of the plane for example. Equally, if you were to exit the body of the plane too high then the impact of the MT-LBV hitting the ground would not be a pleasant experience. If you could get Korovin to lay a small charge, then it would give you some idea what's outside, though a slightly larger charge would enable the MT-LBV's to exit one after the other, depending how many are operational of course. Too high and the plane could go up with all that hanging oil in the atmosphere at the front of the plane.As you are mulling this over Babenko returns from the rear of the hold and informs you; [color=#FF4000]"Sir, Sitrep of the survivors - you have eighteen Spetsnaz, eleven general soldiers who can act as crews for the MT-LBV's and twelve of the scientists left uninjured and or alive. What are we to do with the injured survivors Comrade Kapitan?"[/color] He asks the last in a slightly lower voice.

Melnikov,You look upon the carnage of the shattered hulks of the three MT-LBV's at the base of the cargo hold and just for a moment you mind freezes.

Korovin,As you stand up atop the MT-LBV you are only dimly aware of the figure of Babenko climbing up beside you and gets everyone else down. He ushers them down to the rear of the plane and returns to have a quick chat with Kozlov.

Babenko climbs up beside Korovin and hurries everyone down to the rear of the cargo hold. where he does a head-count. It is worse than he feared with only twenty-nine uninjured soldiers, of which eighteen are Spetsnaz trained. Add to this total, twelve of the scientists survived from the eighty passengers aboard the AN-124. The MT-LBV's hold 2 crew and 11 passengers, and there are up to four possible MT-LBV's available.

OOC:   Note;- the MT-LBV crews are drawn from the ranks of the general soldiers. When he gives the sitrep to the Kapitan, he hopes in his heart that he will get the order to 'eliminate' them because some of the scientists were the half-men muslim's.

OOC:   DeeJ's father's cremation is taking place on Friday so I will probably not be posting until Saturday, though more likely Sunday once we get things back to some semblance of normality - Thank you all again for your forbearance and kind thoughts and well-wishes - Till the weekend then my cyber-friends Ia! Ia! Ia Cthulhu Fhtagn!

All that Kriptoshenko can think about is how unreal everything seems. Surely this isn't happening. This has to be nothing more than a nightmare--the planes are fine, the people are fine, everything is fine.

No.

There's no pretending. He's been through too much to just deny what's right in front of him.

Kozlov nods, taking in Babenko's report, in a muted voice he conveys his orders:

Babenko:,His voice is cold and calculated. "[color=#0000BF]Have [b]Korovin [/b]blow off the hatch, we need to get these vehicles out, otherwise the mission is forfeit. Then let him place another charge set to detonate 2 minutes after we leave. These injured men are dead already, we can't afford anyone to go crazy and come in our back or blow our cover.[/color]"

He then steps up, raising his voice over the din.


"All uninjured personnel are to embark the four functional Emtee's, 3 scientists per vehicle, skeleton crew complements each and the rest equally divided Spetsnaz.
The rest of you are to stay behind and secure the fuselage. Once the hatch is open, the fumes will dissipate and you will be good. We need you to hold this place as a fallback base, our success depends on your tenacity."


"You!", he points at the highest ranking injured man, "you're in charge here when we're gone, soldier."

Nicolay decides to try to repair some of MT-LBV's instead of bringing the good ones...

Melnikov nods at his commander's words while scanning the crates of equipment for medical supplies. Finding some he drags the container to where Kriptoshenko is administering aid, "Supplies for them comrade, let's go"

Grabbing extra ammunition boxes for the PD, he moves towards the nearest of the MT-LBV's.

Melnikov & Kriptoshenko,Melnikov gets the relevant supplies over to where Kriptoshenko is treating one of the 'less injured' men, Abram Teterev, a competent medic that served with the company in the Afghan war. Kriptoshenko nods and having done all he can for the man, at least he can apply further aid to the others, he nods again. He treats the man, solely on autopilot, not really seeing what you are doing. [ooc]Medicine / first aid roll please - just don't fumble.[/ooc] Standing mutely for a moment, Teterev finally takes Kriptoshenko by the hand and says. [color=#0040FF]"Go you need to be away for the mission. You know that I will do my best for these men Vladimir - now quickly - you [b]must[/b] go, and keep an eye on our comrade Andrey, you know how the so called "red mist" descends upon him."[/color

Nicolay,looks around the damaged MT-LBV's and quickly determines that they cannot be fully repaired. [ooc]Roll Mechanical repair - note it will take an impale or better to make any repair "good." If you fail with the impale, an idea roll please - let's say this is the resulting 'overspill' from your earlier '00' roll.[/ooc]

Kozlov,Babenko nods at your commands and heads off to speak to Korovin. The soldier you point to pales a little at you affirmation of his being in command, but his chest soon swells with the pride of being placed in charge, He stands stiffly to attention and salutes as best he can with a broken arm. [color=#FF4000]"Da comrade Kapitan, I will do what needs to be done to make our mission a successful one. I will try to raise a rescue attempt for us and get them to return for you after your glorious return after the undoubted success of your mission!"[/color]

Viktor,You survey the damage to the rear cargo doors and as you climb atop the MT-LBV lying on it's side across the doors you can see, by positioning yourself in the right place, the glint of white through a narrow crack between the two doors. Unfortunately it is not the expected white of a snow covered field, it is what appears to be hard packed snow and ice. This crack stands some twelve feet off the ground.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4409852/
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4409853/
Nicolay seems to understand that he is losing time...

"Comrades, I see a drop of about a dozen feet past the doors," reports Viktor, "but it's hard packed snow and ice down there, not softer ground."

Melnikov flashes a grin towards the medic. He only follows orders if orders tell him to open fire, then open fire he will. There is no doubt that he enjoys being a soldier, but whether he ejoys it a little too much is something else. Admittedly he does get bored with just sitting around waiting, but then who doesn't.
Afghanistan was good, excitement has been limited of late. He nonchalantly strokes the butt of his machine gun, Lara, and the grin becomes a wolfish smile.

Kozlov,Your orders receive a quick nod in response from Chelovek [color=#0040FF]"Da Comrade Kapitan, as you request. We will wait six hours after you depart before I establish what contact I can."[/color]

Kriptoshenko,You leave Teterev and return to the rest of the remains of your company and report to Kapitan Kozlov.

Melnikov,This waiting around for something to happen is starting to grate upon your nerves, but the feel of Laura's butt reassures you slightly. You start to wonder when this mission is going to actually start.

Viktor,In your assessment, the drop onto the hard packed ice may damage the MT-LBV's on the way down, but it is do-able.

Korovin,Babenko sidles up beside you and says to you in a low voice. [color=#0040FF]"Comrade Korovin, your attention please. The Kapitan has instructed me to relay his orders which are as follows. You are to lay charges powerful enough to blow the rear cargo hatch so that we can proceed with the mission. Further to this ..."[/color] He looks around and drops his voice a little, laying his hand on your arm for emphasis. [color=#0040FF]"... You are then to place a further charge, surreptitiously, powerful enough to take the rest of the plane out so that we can safeguard the success of the mission. Make the second charge to detonate about two minutes after we all leave."[/color]

"I think we can still drop the MTs down to the ice," says Viktor. "There may be some damage, but it shouldn't be too bad."

Kozlov nods at Viktor's statement.

"Good, once the hatch is blown I want those Emtees out of here in quick succession. If we can leave the plane with enough velocity, we might minimize damage. Start boarding once Korovin has set his charges and make sure the scientists are properly strapped in."

Korovin,Can I have two [b]demolitions [/b]rolls please - your skill is 75% It will take you some time to lay the charges, especially the final one, so you will probably be in the last MT-LBV out.

.

Korovin sets to laying the charge to open the cargo doors whilst Babenko, quickly and efficiently goes about starting to allot people to the surviving MT-LBV's. Unfortunately, when the vehicles are fired up, you find one has a nearly empty fuel tank, so the soldiers, scientists and Spetsnaz are spread amongst the other three as follows;

MT-LBV one
4 Scientists
3 General Soldiers
Six Spetsnaz (Babenko plus five others)

MT-LBV two
4 Scientists
3 General Soldiers
Six Spetsnaz

MT-LBV three
4 Scientists
3 General Soldiers
Six Spetsnaz (Kozlov, Kriptoshenko, Korovin, Melnikov, Viktor and two others)

OOC:   As Korovin is laying the charges, it would make sense for your group to be in the last MT-LBV out. But that's your decision to make.

When all the preparations are ready, Viktor boards his assigned MT-LBV and straps himself securely into his seat to prepare for the drop.

With a final check of his equipment and a loving slap on the butt of his beloved 'Lara', Melnikov, swings into the MT-LBV 3. Flashing a wolfish grin at the other occupants he straps himself in ready for the drop.
The prospect of action is affecting him, his eyes shining with excitement.

Melnikov thinking:   Da, let's do it.

Korovin is working as fast as he can, in a rapid and efficient way.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4418142/

The smoke from the low temperature fuel burning from the three MT-LBV's quickly fills the confines of the cargo hold. Suddenly a loud bang, followed by the screeching of metal tearing against metal. The left hand door is now wedged against a snow or ice bank, whilst the right hand door is hanging by it's top hinges, the lower ones being split apart. The frigid air quickly disperses the fog of burnt fuel from the vehicles as the icy wind swirls round the cargo bay. The first MT-LBV charges out the door and lands with a loud bang onto the packed ice and struggles away up the rut left by the plane crash-landing. "Clear" comes Babenko's voice on the radio.

Pretty soon the second vehicle follows, and despite struggling a bit more than the first vehicle, it gets up the bank and the driver radios "Clear" and your driver calls down "Ready Comrades, here we go - it look as though it is a rough bump." as the vehicle lurches forwards. Looking out the window, you can all see the soldier with the broken arm saluting as you leave.

The vehicle flies into space and with a jolt that rattles your teeth, you land and after a minute the MT-LBV struggles up the furrow where the other two vehicles are awaiting. They quickly drive off North, hoping to get as much distance between the plane and them as possible. After a few minutes there is a loud explosion behind them and bit's of debris start to land around them. The scientists look at each other, their wide-eyed faces now ashen. Suddenly a large part of a jet engine lands just in front of the middle vehicle causing the second and third MT-LBV's to swerve to avoid it.

The weather outside is getting rapidly worse, the blizzard increasing more and more. Visibility is often below 100m, making getting your bearings difficult, if not impossible. Your outside temperature gauge reads -6 degrees celsius, and it is dropping. Even quite large features are difficult to spot. The windows start to freeze up as does the driver's periscope. This means that someone has to open the hatch, climb out and clear the periscope and drivers windscreen at least or risk tumbling the vehicle into a ravine or getting it hung up on boulders. The sky is not visible through the storm. The sun barely registers as a smudge of illumination while it is above the horizon. Clearing the periscopes / windscreens etc has to be done every 30 minutes at the moment.

About 45 minutes out from the plane, Babenko's agitated voice comes across the radio. "Comrade Kapitan. Something unusual to report, I think Sir. If you look out the right hand side you can see a herd of Reindeer caught in this severe storm. I have seen several herds already as well as some huge muskoxen all seemingly killed by the temperature drop."

OOC:   I need to make some rolls - let's hope I don't fumble. Everyone move to this thread please - viewtopic.php?f=302&t=5075